1959 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia

The 1959 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia was the nineteenth tour of by New Zealand's national rugby league team, and the fourteen tour to visit Australia. The team lost the first two Test Matches of a three match series, but won every other match.

1959 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia
Manager	A. Chapman W. Moyle
Coach(es)	Travers Hardwick
Tour captain(s)	Cliff Johnson
Top test point scorer(s)	Cyril Eastlake 15 Keith Barnes 20
Top test try scorer(s)	Neville Denton 2 Reg Gasnier 5
Summary	P W D L
Total	16 13 00 03
Test match	03 01 00 02
Opponent	P W D L
Australia	3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tour	1956
Next tour	1963

Touring squad

The following players were listed in the program, Rugby League News, for the match against New South Wales.^[1]

Player	Pos.	Age	Weight	Province	Tests on Tour	Occupation
Ron Ackland	Second-row	24	14 st. 8 lb. (93 kg)	Auckland	3	Contractor
Ean Anderson	Centre	26	12 st. 7 lb. (79 kg)	Canterbury	0	Plumber
Jock Butterfield	Hooker	27	14 st. 8 lb. (93 kg)	West Coast	3	Contractor
Brian Campbell	Five-eighth	22	11 st. 7 lb. (73 kg)	Auckland	1	Fitter and Turner
Melville Cooke	Lock	24	13 st. 0 lb. (83 kg)	Canterbury	1	Carpenter
Neville Denton	Wing	24	12 st. 6 lb. (79 kg)	Auckland	3	Freezing Worker
Cyril Eastlake	Utility Back	28	11 st. 12 lb. (75 kg)	Auckland	3	Contractor
Reese Griffiths	Wing	21	13 st. 4 lb. (84 kg)	West Coast	3	Miner
Tom Hadfield	Wing	24	12 st. 7 lb. (79 kg)	Auckland	0	Transport Director
Don Hammond	Second-row	22	12 st. 12 lb. (82 kg)	Auckland	0	Aero Technician
Bill Hattaway	Second-row	28	13 st. 7 lb. (86 kg)	Auckland	0	Welder
Cliff Johnson	Prop	30	15 st. 7 lb. (98 kg)	Auckland	3	Plumber
Graham Kennedy	Five-eighth	20	12 st. 10 lb. (81 kg)	West Coast	0	Teacher
Trevor Kilkelly	Second-row	28	13 st. 11 lb. (88 kg)	West Coast	3	Miner
Henry Maxwell	Prop	27	17 st. 7 lb. (111 kg)	Auckland	1	Longshoreman
George Menzies	Five-eighth	27	11 st. 4 lb. (72 kg)	West Coast	3	Rope splicer
Murray Paterson	Wing	25	12 st. 0 lb. (76 kg)	Auckland	0	Teacher
Rex Percy	Lock	25	13 st. 7 lb. (86 kg)	Auckland	2	Wharf foreman
Gary Phillips	Fullback	21	12 st. 3 lb. (78 kg)	Auckland	3	Hosiery Technician
Joe Rātima	Prop	33	16 st. 0 lb. (102 kg)	Auckland	2	Laborer
Brian Reidy	Fullback	20	11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg)	Auckland	0	Clerk
Keith Roberts	Halfback	27	12 st. 0 lb. (76 kg)	Canterbury	3	Freezing Worker
William Schultz	Hooker	20	12 st. 1 lb. (77 kg)	Auckland	0	Diesel Mechanic
Bill Snowden	Halfback	22	11 st. 5 lb. (72 kg)	Auckland	0	Upholsterer
George Turner	Centre	27	11 st. 6 lb. (73 kg)	Auckland	2	Contractor
Peter Turner	Prop	23	13 st. 3 lb. (84 kg)	Wellington	0	Roofer

Matches

May 27

Western Division	3–51	New Zealand
Tries: 1 Goals: nil		Tries:13 Goals: 6

Ginstead Oval, Forbes Attendance: 4,000

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May 29

Newcastle	6–25	New Zealand
Tries: 2 Goals: nil	Result^[2]	Tries: 5 Goals: 5

Newcastle Sports Ground Attendance: 9,203

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May 31

Northern Division	11–26	New Zealand
Tries: 3 Goals: 1		Tries: 6 Goals: 4

Kitchener Park, Gunnedah Attendance: 4,556

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June 3

Riverina	13–37	New Zealand
Tries: 1 Goals: 5	Report^[3]	Tries: 7 Goals: 8

Narrandera Sports Ground Attendance: 4,000

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June 6

New South Wales XIII	22–23	New Zealand
Tries: Ian Moir (3) Don Parish (2) B Graham Goals: Parish (1) Graham (1)	Program Report^[4]	Tries: R. Percy (2) R Griffiths N. Denton R. Ackland Goals: Cyril Eastlake (4)

Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 35,444 Referee: Darcy Lawler

Team list:

New South Wales FB: Brian Graham (22) (  St George), WG: Ian Moir (27) (  Wests), CE: Harry Wells (26) (  Wests), CE: Reg Gasnier (20) (  St George), WG: Don Parish (21) (Dubbo), FE: Brian Clay (25) (  St George), HB: Bobby Bugden (23) (  Wests), LK: John Raper (20) (  Wests), SR: Norm Provan (27) (  St George), SR: Bill Owens (23) (Newcastle  ), PR: Rex Mossop (31) (  Manly), HK: Ian Walsh (25) (  Eugowra), PR: Billy Wilson (30) (  St George). Brian Carlson (26) (  Norths) was selected but withdrew. Barry Harris (21) (  Newtown) was selected as a reserve but did not play. New Zealand FB: Gary Phillips, WG: Reese Griffiths, CE: Cyril Eastlake, CE: George Turner, WG: Neville Denton, FE: George Menzies, HB: Keith Roberts, LK: Rex Percy, SR: Ron Ackland, SR: Trevor Kilkelly, PR: Cliff Johnson, HK: Jock Butterfield, PR: Henry Maxwell.

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June 7

Southern Division	10–27	New Zealand
Tries: 2 Goals: 2		Tries: 7 Goals: 3

Wollongong Showground Attendance: 5,741

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1st Test

June 13

Australia	9–8	New Zealand
Tries: Dud Beattie Goals: Brian Carlson (3)	Program RLP db	Tries: Cyril Eastlake Henry Maxwell Goals: Cyril Eastlake (1)

Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 38,613 Referee: Darcy Lawler

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June 15

Brisbane	8–36	New Zealand
Tries: 2 Goals: 1		Tries: 8 Goals: 6

Brisbane Exhibition Ground Attendance: 16,888

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June 16

Toowoomba	19–21	New Zealand
Tries: 3 Goals: 5		Tries: 3 Goals: 6

Athletic Oval, Toowoomba Attendance: 5,000

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June 20

Queensland	19–34	New Zealand
Tries: 3 Goals: 5		Tries: 8 Goals: 5

Lang Park, Brisbane Attendance: 17,811

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June 21

Central Queensland	19–48	New Zealand
Tries: 3 Goals: 5		Tries: 10 Goals: 9

Rockhampton Showground Attendance: 4,801

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June 23

Wide Bay	0–62	New Zealand
Tries: nil Goals: nil		Tries: 16 Goals: 7

Bundaberg Showground Attendance: 3,331

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2nd Test

June 27

Australia	38–10	New Zealand
Tries: Reg Gasnier (3) Ian Moir (3) John Raper Harry Wells Goals: Keith Barnes (7)	RLP db	Tries: Brian Campbell Joe Ratima Goals: Rex Pery (2)

Brisbane Exhibition Ground Attendance: 30,994 Referee: Darcy Lawler

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June 28

Ipswich	16–52	New Zealand
Tries: Gary Parcell, Don Barrett, Mick Mulgrew, Brian Walsh Goals: William Cameron (2)	Report^[5]	Tries: Cyril Eastlake (3), George Menzies, Don Hammond, Brian Reidy, George Turner, John Butterfield, Bill Schultz, Billy Snowdon, Tom Hadfield, Joe Ratima Goals: Cyril Eastlake (8)

Ipswich Showground Attendance: 3,875 Referee: J. Purtell

Team list:

Ipswich FB: Bill Cameron (  West End), WG: Don Lowry (  Booval Swifts), CE: Brian Walsh (  Brothers), CE: Mick Mulgrew (  Brothers), WG: Merv Cobb (  West End), FE: Don Barrett (  Booval Swifts), HB: Gerry O'Sullivan (  Brothers), LK: Thornton Jones (  West End), SR: Mick Scully (  West End), SR: Jim Foreman (  Booval Swifts), PR: Gary Parcell (  Brothers), HK: Bob Christison (  Railways), PR: Dan O'Dempsey (  Brothers), Coach Les Heidke. New Zealand FB: Brian Reidy, WG: Murray Paterson, CE: George Turner, CE: Cyril Eastlake, WG: Tom Hadfield, FE: George Menzies, HB: Bill Snowdon, LK: Melville Cooke, SR: Don Hammond, SR: Peter Turner, PR: Joe Rātima, HK: William Schultz, PR: Jock Butterfield.

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3rd Test

July 4

Australia	12–28	New Zealand
Tries: Reg Gasnier (2) Goals: Keith Barnes (3)	Program RLP db	Tries: Neville Denton (2) John Butterfield Mel Cooke Reece Griffiths Cliff Johnson Goals: Cyril Eastlake (5)

Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 31,629 Referee: Darcy Lawler

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Sources

Item	Availability
	Online	Via
Rugby League Project database (RLP db)	Yes	Rugby League Project website
Rugby League News	Yes	Rugby League News (Sydney : 1920 - 1973) at Trove
The Canberra Times	Yes	The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) at Trove
E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League 1960 Yearbook	No	SLNSW
Ipswich versus International Teams^[5]	No	NLA, SLQ

References

1. New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "How they line up". The Rugby League News. Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League (Vol. 40 No. 12 (6-7 June 1959)). Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Trove.
2. "New Zealand Too Good For Newcastle". The Canberra Times. 1 Jun 1959. p. 10. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020 – via Trove.
3. "Kiwis Defeat Riverina". The Canberra Times. 4 Jun 1959. p. 28. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020 – via Trove.
4. "Kiwis Gain Narrow Win Over N.S.W." The Canberra Times. 8 Jun 1959. p. 8. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020 – via Trove.
5. J.E., Christinson (2012). Ipswich Versus International Teams. J.E. Christinson.